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Saturday, May 9, 2009

Campaign Update #7. The Fall of Ophidia

May 16-18

It was another night of surprises in Kharschum. After finishing up your business from the previous session by returning a resurrected Granya to her grateful father and claiming your reward of 28,000 gps, you returned to the tower to find a note wedged into the door of Silks and Sundries. It was from someone named Chuluun, who claimed to be privy to some sort of opportunity, and bade you to meet him in the Roan Stallion, a tavern in Queen Farida's Close. Your curiosity piqued, you went to the tavern and spoke with Chuluun, who turned out to be an accomplished warrior in need of an adventuring party. Chuluun explained that he knew of a hidden entrance to the tomb of an insane transmuter named Torghil the Demented. You haggled a bit over shares of the potential treasure, with Chuluun demanding a rather hefty proportion, but ultimately decided to defer the temple raid until you had dealt with Ophidia and the Red Nails, who had become annoyingly insistent about the Mirror of Life Trapping that you had found in Ogodei's tower.

You went to the Mask and the Mirror, where you seemingly convinced Amira, Ophidia's representative, to agree to meet at the former compound of Shivani's cult to exchange the mirror for 200,000 gold pieces. Perhaps it was your insistence that Ophidia herself appear to close the deal, or perhaps it was simply Amira's keen intuition, but she apparently saw through your ruse, because she sent a disguised whore and two expendable soldiers with 200,000 copper pieces to the compound. This might have been a setback had not Alayna managed to overtake and dominate Hussain, an assassin who had scaled the compound walls and turned himself invisible to observe the encounter.

With the detailed information that Hussain provided about Ophidia's lair beneath the Mask and the Mirror, entered through a hidden entrance, ambushed the guards with the help of Hrolff's Cone of Silence spell, and burst into Ophidia's sitting room. Ulfgar and Chuluun found ophidia in her bedchamber and dealt her a great deal of damege before she was able to Dimension Door to the entry hallway and turn herself invisible. The fight was long, but the party prevailed. The olny survivor was Amira, who agreed, at the point of a sord, to run the Red Nails on behalf of the Eightish.

According to the CR and XP scales, Ophidia is worth over 500,000 experience points. This, totalling experience points is useless. Instead, 9th-level characters should update their totals to 54,999 experience points (one point shy of 11th level) and 10th level characters should update their totals to 65,999 (one point shy of 12th). It is perfectly fine with me if you backstory in order to bump up that extra level. In fact, I'll be surprised if I don't see at least a few new posts these next two weeks.

12 comments:

In regard to our next session, the 23rd looks best for me. How about everyone else?

It seems to me that the 3.5 CR system is a bit flawed, at least when it comes to scaling monsters with character classes. According to the system, Ophidia was CR 25. A red dragon wyrm, (HD 37d12) is listed as CR 24, but would pose a somewhat greater threat to the party than did Ophidia. The DM does have the discretion to adjust XP awards, and I will probably do that in the future, but I am interested in your thoughts and feedback as to how I should do that.

Inakai and Kier are so far behind now, I'm not sure how they will catch up, or if they ever will. Inakai has some gold and she is interested in buying the magic bow from party companion, Ulfgar. I realize she was not at the battle where it was won and therefore, did not rightfully earn it, but, I think it would most benefit the party if a skilled, 9th level ranger with a weapon focus in archery carried the bow. Just a thought...I also had a question. What would a party do if a magic user from the party was absent for a session, but a spellbook that only a magic user could use was recovered after the battle was won? I realize that a spellbook is different than a bow, but I'm just curious how a party of seemingly amicable adventurers would handle that particular situation.

Ulfgar, for the good of the party, has gifted the Bow, His Vorpal Sword, amulet and bracers of protection to Inakai. The recent violence and gang warfare have scarred the Barbarian Dwarf. He has taken enough of his platinum to pay for ships passage from this despicable isle. As the ship sets sail there can be heard a raging warcry over the waves. Arrrrgh by the Blood of Gorham....

The 23rd works for me. I will be looking to have leveled twice by then thanks to that perilous encounter and a backstory if I can summon one forth. Oh to have "Summon Nature's Backstory" spell prepared.

I wonder how our last session might have turned out if Erth had failed that first early "will save" and had become a thrall to our enemy. I think most any of our sessions might go wrong but for a timely D20 here or there. Well played, DM!